Low or High-Level Motor Coding? The Role of Stimulus Complexity.

ABSTRACT: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have shown that observing an action induces activity in the onlooker's motor system. In light of the muscle specificity and time-locked mirroring nature of the effect, this motor resonance has been traditionally viewed as an inner automatic replica of the observed movement. Notably, studies highlighting this aspect have classically considered movement in isolation (i.e., using non-realistic stimuli such as snapshots of hands detached from background). However, a few recent studies accounting for the role of contextual cues, motivational states, and social factors, have challenged this view by showing that motor resonance is not completely impervious to top-down modulations. A debate is still present. We reasoned that motor resonance reflects

SUBMITTER: Amoruso L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6798151 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature